Porky Lights sausages, which are said to contain just 78 ­calories and three per cent fat per banger, turned out to be much higher in fat

Slimmers were outraged after it was claimed Porky Lights sausages, which are said to contain just 78 ­calories and three per cent fat per banger, are much higher in fat.

Slimming World customers complained the products were making them GAIN weight.

Makers Porky Whites deny the claims. But choosing foods branded as “healthy” or “light” does not necessarily mean you are eating fewer calories, sugar or salt — or getting more beneficial fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Manufacturers often pump such products with sugar, salt and fat to make them taste nicer. Some contain more calories as a result.

Sun nutritionist AMANDA URSELL says: “The chances are, if they have taken the fat out of it or lowered the salt or sugar, they will have added something else that is not good for your health to make it palatable.”

Here, Amanda and CHRISTINA EARLE pick out regular foods and, on the red labels, show how “healthier” versions compare.

In some instances, products have been compared per item or per pack, rather than by weight.

Look beyond the headlines that manufacturers use to capture your attention

That means looking beyond the “headlines” that manufacturers use to catch your attention and make you feel safe that their product is in some way “good” for you.

This means checking the nutrients per serving and making sure that you understand what a serving actually is. It can sometimes be confusing.

For example, if a packet of vegetable crisps claims to have just 100 calories per serving, check how many servings are in the pack. In a 150g pack there could easily be six 25g servings. Wolf down the whole pack and you’ve devoured 600 calories, mistakenly thinking you have had a sixth of this.

Check the nutrients per serving and making sure that you understand what a serving actually is

And just because a product claims to be “low in fat” or “high in fibre”, it does not automatically mean the rest of the nutrients are in healthy proportions.

Take a low-fat yoghurt. It is low in fat but can have two teaspoons of sugar added to make it more tasty and give more texture.

Or a breakfast cereal rich in fibre may give you a good amount towards your daily 30g target yet also pile in surprising amounts of salt.

Remember, if you are unsure of what you are letting yourself in for, leave it on the shelf.

Jargon buster

LABELLING a product “healthy”, even when it is full of sugar and salt, is possible thanks to EU rules – but the terms are essentially meaningless. Here we reveal what food manufacturers can claim:

LOW FAT – when the product contains no more than 3g of fat per 100g for solids, or 1.5g fat per 100ml for liquids.

FAT FREE – when the product contains no more than 0.5g of fat per 100g or 100ml.

LOW SATURATED FAT – when the sum of saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids in the product does not exceed 1.5g per 100g for solids or 0.75g/100ml for liquids.

LOW SUGARS – 5g of sugars per 100g for solids or 2.5g per 100ml for liquids is the limit for products with this claim.

WITH NO ADDED SUGARS – even if a product is high in natural sugars this is allowed. Manufacturers are told to add the following label if this is the case: Contains naturally occurring sugars.

NO ADDED SALT – the product must contain no more than 0.12g sodium, or 0.3g for salt, per 100g or 100ml.

SOURCE OF PROTEIN – 12% or more of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.

REDUCED SATURATED FAT – when there is at least 30% less than the saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids in a similar product. “Reduced sugars” can be claimed if the energy content of that product is equal to or less than the energy in a similar product.

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